


Long-Lost Twins Are Overrated

by Kapdixo



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Acephobia, Asexual Character, Asexuality, Internalized Acephobia, M/M, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Sexuality Crisis, Twincest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-03-06 02:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 15,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kapdixo/pseuds/Kapdixo
Summary: What do you mean Iceland has an identical twin he was separated from at birth?All this started because I received a request on my blog with everyone finding out Iceland, like I just said, has an identical twin he was separated from at birth. Sorry, but this OC was too pure for me to use just once.Hereis the blog post that started it all.





	1. Getting Trolled

"I just realized why you're stupid. Me choking you by the tie so much has deprived you of oxygen and given you brain damage." Norway studied his fingers, nodding. "That sounds about right."

"Oh, you wound me!" Denmark hung upside-down off Norway's bed and groaned. "There's nothing to do today! It's so damn boring, Norge!"

He sighed, pushing his reading glasses up higher on his nose. "Then go be bored somewhere else so I don't have to read over your pathetic whining."

"Why do Alfred and Gilbert have to be busyyyyy?" He sat up, hoping to get a quick peek at the book. "Whatcha reading?"

"A book of spells." Norway's eyes slowly moved across the page, taking in every word. It was mesmerizing to watch, and Denmark found himself lost in them. He inched closer and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He wasn't shrugged off. He tested his boundaries even further by resting his head on Norway's shoulder. Norway slowly started to put his head on top of his, and then-

RING! RING! RING!

"JESUS CHRIST!" Denmark shrieked, falling off the bed and landing headfirst on the hardwood floor. "Fuck, Norge! I hate you!"

Norway sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shut up, it's not like I planned on that happening." He took his cross pin out of his hair and held it up to his ear. "Hello?"

"Tell your stupid troll friend to fuck off." He shakily rose to his feet.

"It's not a troll. Hello, England. You don't usually call this phone, so why..." He pursed his lips. "You were what?"

Denmark scrambled up next to him, curious. "What's happening?"

"Out in the ocean, near Iceland. What?" Norway sat up straight, narrowing his eyes. "No, that isn't possible. You're mistaken, there can't be another one. What?" His jaw dropped. "I need to go." He threw the clip down and took in a shuddering breath. "My god."

"Uh, hello? Mind explaining?" The Dane poked his face, which was frozen in a mask of shock. "Hello?"

He made a weak gurgling noise. "I-I'm a big brother again. I think Iceland has a twin."

"You can't be fucking serious! I'm pretty sure we'd know if Iceland had some twin brother!" Denmark paced around nervously and tugged at his own hair. "What makes him think-"

"He looks like him," Norway interrupted. "He was sitting on the edge of a piece of land with his feet in the water, and England saw him while he was on a boat. Said his name was Nerstong. I've never heard of a human name like that."

"Another one of us? This is all kinds of jacked-up, I need a nap!" He threw an arm over his face. "Wake me never."

He growled, prying his arm away. "This is serious! What the hell do we do with this information?"

"Tell no one! Especially not Iceland!" Denmark shivered in fear. "We don't need two of him!"

"We can't just not tell him!" he shouted.

"Can't tell who what?" Iceland stood in the doorway, scoffing at their deer-in-the-headlights expressions. "I can hear you over my music."

Denmark sucked in air through his teeth and forced a weak smile. "You're going to go deaf."

"It's not a phase, mom." He stuck out his tongue. "You're mad because I don't listen to music from your stupid country."

"False!" He laughed nervously. "Today's youth is just so obsessed with music like this, and they don't really appreciate-"

"WE STILL NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT NERSTONG!" Norway firmly grabbed him by his tie and pulled as hard as he could. "JUST SHUT UP!"

Iceland tilted his head. "Nerstong?" He crossed his arms, watching the two men exchange frantic looks. "What is that? Sounds like a weird Scandinavian name."

He facepalmed, officially giving up. "No, that's a new country that is apparently your twin brother."

He opened his mouth, squeaking out a laugh. "Sure, lame joke. You had me there for a second."

"Here's his number." Denmark plucked his phone out of his hand and typed it in. "Have fun."

"This is going pretty far for a joke." Iceland saved the contact under the name _Brother?_

"Believe what you want, dude. I'm going to bed." He flipped the two of them off before strolling out of the room.


	2. I'm an Adult

This was so stupid.

Iceland's finger hovered over the send button. Was he actually entertaining this stupid prank? He swallowed, finally going through with it. _Um, hello?_ He jumped at the swoosh of a new message. That was way too fast, damn.

_Hi! Who is this?_

Iceland took a moment to think about what he was going to say. _I was told you're my twin brother that we didn't know existed? Iceland?_

_So it's true! My name is Nerstong!_ The message came with what appeared to be a selfie, but it was too blurry to even begin to make out a face.

"Heh." _That's a little weird._

_That's weird? I looked you up and you don't actually have ice everywhere!_

Iceland shrugged. _Touché._

The two of them talked for at least half an hour. Iceland learned Nerstong's human name was Atli (maybe Atli Steilsson in the future), and he wasn't exactly sure where he came from. Iceland came up with a working theory that part of his land might've shifted during a volcanic eruption, which sounded a little far-fetched. But hey, better than nothing.

They planned to meet at the Gullfoss Waterfall the next day. Iceland was still skeptical about the whole situation, but he would still get to observe the beautiful waterfall in his country either way. Honestly he wanted to wait a few days before meeting up so soon, but Nerstong insisted he see his brother as soon as possible.

"At least he's not an exact copy of you." Norway finished pouring tea for everyone and sat down. "I can drive you tomorrow."

"Can't he drive himself?" Finland tilted his head. "I think he's earned our trust!"

"Not mine." He stabbed his fork into his food. "I'm driving."

Denmark laughed, nearly choking on his pasta. "Very funny, Fin! There's no way Icey is getting behind the wheel this century!"

Sweden smirked, lowering his teacup. "You're talking about him as if he's not here right now."

"I wanna see the new country," Sealand whined. "Maybe he-"

"You weren't invited," Iceland snapped, immediately regretting how harsh his tone came out. "I-I'm going to eat in my room." He picked up his plate and ran upstairs before he could see their faces.

"He's nervous, isn't he?" Finland whispered. Norway nodded once.

"Ugh! Stupid everything!" He flopped onto his bed, nearly tipping the plate over. "Shit!" He tried to do the breathing exercises Norway had taught him, which calmed him down a bit. He was going to fuck tomorrow up so bad and lose someone he didn't even get a chance to know. Maybe that's what he deserved.


	3. Not What I Was Expecting

Iceland sighed, stepping out of the car with more than a bit of hesitance. He still couldn't process all of it was real. "I'm not sure I should do this."

"I'm not turning this car around after we've come all this way. Shoo." Norway's face softened a bit at the Gullfoss Waterfall, nearly smiling. "You chose quite the stunning meeting place."

"It was his idea." He nibbled on his bottom lip. "What if I do something wrong? What if he doesn't like me?"

"Then you're on your own." He pointed off into the distance. "I see him."

Nerstong's head poked out from behind one of the large rocks, revealing that he was almost identical to Iceland. His hair was just a bit longer in the back, and he had indigo eyes as opposed to Iceland's violet. He gasped, sprinting right at him. "BROTHER!"

"Cripes." Iceland managed to squeeze his eyes shut right before the impact. "Whoah!" He landed flat on his back, wind painfully forced out of him. "Ow, okay! Hi to you too!"

"Hi!" He pushed himself up until they were almost nose-to-nose. "Can I call you Emil? Or brother?"

"I guess?" He sat up, groaning. "Wait, what are you wearing?"

"Clothes?" Nerstong looked down at his pastel yellow tank top and pink shorts. "You like?"

"It's about seven degrees Celsius!" Iceland shook his head. "Aren't you cold?"

He furrowed his brows, pretending to think hard. "Mmm, nope! I feel fine!" He gently pulled him to his feet and grinned. "Let's sit by the waterfall, brother!"

"Okay?" He swore as he was dragged off faster than he could ever hope to run, glaring at a smug Norway. "Slow down!"

"Nope!" Nerstong didn't stop until they were at the waterfall, so close they almost fell in. "What music do you like?"

Iceland relaxed. Something normal to talk about, good. "Several American bands. I like My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco. What about you?"

He clapped his hands. "I like some American bands, but my favorite is actually British! You wanna hear?" 

"Sure." He watched as he took out his phone and opened his music app. "What band is-" He tilted his head. "What in the world is this?"

"Coldplay, silly!" Nerstong stuck out his tongue. "Shh!"

"Coldplay." Iceland bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing. Seriously, his brother had to like a band considered girly? Synthesizers and everything, dear lord.

He clamped a hand over his mouth as he vibrated in place. "Wait for it. Wait for it."

"Mmph." He rolled his eyes.

Whoah.

"Yeah, I know! Isn't it awesome?" Nerstong smiled fondly as Iceland just closed his eyes. "I knew you'd like it!"

_When she was just a girl_   
_She expected the world_   
_But it flew away from her reach_   
_So she ran away in her sleep_

_And dreamed of para-para-paradise_   
_Para-para-paradise_   
_Para-para-paradise_   
_Every time she closed her eyes_

"Huh." Norway watched as he sat on the hood of the car. "I guess he can make friends when he really tries." He felt proud of his little brother, and he wanted Iceland to someday feel the same about Nerstong.


	4. Build Anything We Want

Denmark hummed a tune to himself as he played LEGOS with Sealand, building an extravagant viking ship. "Check it out! I had one of these babies way back in the day!"

"-so much!" The front door suddenly burst open so hard it almost flew off its hinges. Norway and Iceland were behind Nerstong, who was chattering about something or other. "What a beautiful house you have!"

"Finland provided the flowers." Iceland yawned, tired out from his visit. "I'm gonna sleep."

"Aw, okay." He pulled him into a quick hug before letting him go upstairs. "Goodnight, brother! Sweet dreams!"

Denmark eyed the teen wearily, scratching his head. "Well, if it's the cockblocker himself. I'm Denmark, and please tell me you aren't exactly like Icey."

"I don't think I am." Nerstong's eyes lit up with so much life as he glanced at Sealand. "LEGOS! Can I play with you?"

Sealand grinned. Yes, someone he could teach about being a country! "Sure! I'm building a ship!"

"Vikings." He turned a red brick over in his hands thoughtfully. "Hey, munchkin? Does my brother hate me?"

"His name is Sealand," Sweden called.

"Oh. But does he hate me? Why did he want to leave so soon?" Nerstong slowly began to build a skinny tower. 

"No way he hates you, he's just not used to people. He'll come around!" Denmark nodded at his creation approvingly. "Just ruffle my hair if you need more bricks! I keep them stashed there in case of emergencies!"

Norway rolled his eyes. "When would you need LEGO bricks?"

"The battlefield! Make your enemies step on them!" He thought for a moment. "Actually, they'd be wearing shoes. Just put the bricks inside of them."

"Cruel and unusual punishment." Sweden knelt down to Nerstong's height. "Hello, I am Sweden. Finland is my wife."

Nerstong stared at him for three tense seconds before smiling. "Hi! It's nice to meet you!" He nodded to Finland. "And you! I think you guys make a cute couple!"

"We-we're not a couple!" Finland stuttered. 

"You have a dog and a kid together." Denmark clicked his tongue. "You're not fooling any of us."

Finland's jaw dropped as Nerstong just went back to building. "Anyways, he doesn't like people? That's sad, I love meeting them. Are you sure he's okay?"

"Check on him if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it." Norway patted his head. "Little brother."

"I will, other brother!" He dropped his half-finished creation and ran upstairs. "Here I come!"

Denmark giggled fondly. "That kid is so dead."


	5. Oh, Hey Kyle

Nerstong slowly crept up to the door with a DO NOT ENTER sign, figuring it had to be Iceland's room. He placed his hand on the knob and tried to turn it. It worked, no resistance. He pushed the door open and stepped inside the room, admiring the band posters on the pale blue walls. It wasn't very big, and only had basic pieces of furniture completely covered in random items. Iceland was in his bed underneath a baby blue blanket, almost like the walls.

"Hi, brother," Nerstong whispered. "Are you awake?"

"Mmph." Iceland stirred, then opened his eyes. "Huh? Nerstong, I'm going to ask you something very important."

He nodded. "Okay."

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" He narrowed his eyes, the two of them nose-to-nose.

Nerstong giggled childishly. "Just hanging out. You look peaceful when you're asleep."

"I'm not sure you realize how creepy that is." Iceland pushed him off. "What did you want?"

"I was worried about you." He rubbed his hands together, voice softening. "I thought you didn't like me or something, you know? I'm too weird for you?"

"Weird?" He chuckled. "Nerstong, literally everyone is weird. There's nothing wrong with you."

Nerstong grinned, dimples popping up on his face. "I'm glad! But still, why did you leave so fast?"

"You tire me out, man." Iceland yawned. "I like you, but I'm not used to people trying to talk to me so much, you know? Besides Denmark, and you talk more than him."

"Oh, sorry. I'm just...really excited that we found each other, you know? Should I talk less to make you more comfortable? I'm prepared to do anything to make you feel more comfortable." Determination shined in his eyes. 

"No, don't do that. Just keep being yourself." He gave him a weak thumbs-up and pulled the blanket back up to his chin. "I'm exhausted, but we can talk tomorrow. Stay in one of the guest rooms if you want."

At that, Nerstong switched back to his bubbly self. "Thank you so much! Hey, I want to attend the next world meeting with you! Please?"

Iceland started to say no, then reconsidered. "Absolutely. I can't wait to see their reactions."

"Woohoo! Goodnight, brother!" He squatted down, then launched himself off the bed and ran out the door.

"OW!" He groaned to himself, rubbing his shin. "My leg."


	6. Stop It

"Is this really necessary?" Iceland groaned.

"I couldn't find any extra chairs." Nerstong sat in his lap, practically vibrating in excitement. "When are we gonna start? What are we gonna talk about?"

"No idea." He groaned, taking in his twin's outfit. He was dressed exactly like him, except with a pink jacket and black pants. It was flattering yet embarrassing. Norway fell over laughing when he first saw it.

Germany cleared his throat and stood up, stacking several papers in front of him. "Alright everyone, today's world conference has officially started. Like we discussed last time, all will be recorded from now on. The date is-"

"We're gonna talk about the toilet issues at Pimlico Race Course!" America interrupted. "I absolutely refuse to let my people suffer without bathrooms!"

Japan nodded once. "I see his point."

"God, you're always agreeing with him. Why don't you two just get married?" England clapped a hand over France's mouth before he could comment. "Shut up!"

"Hmph." France just licked his hand to get him to let go, which was incredibly effective. Everyone covered their ears at England's disgusted shriek that echoed throughout the room. Greece raised his head off the table to briefly shoot him a glare before dozing off again.

"Why do you have to rupture my eardrums, England?! I still need them!" China practically leapt out of his chair to grab his wok and bean him over the head with it.

"Midlife crisis going on with the old man over there," America snickered. No one heard him over all the screaming threats and arguing. "Hey, pay attention to me!" 

Germany struggled to get control over the situation, but it was hard when he had one country asking him about pasta and the other trying to murder him. "Get off of me, both of you Italians! I'm trying to run a meeting!"

"I LIKE IT HERE!" 

"Eh?" Everyone stopped talking as soon as Nerstong spoke. 

"You're all really fun!" He noticed all the eyes were focused on him, and he raised an eyebrow. "What are you guys looking at?"

"Is that Iceland?" Russia whispered. "He's so very colorful!"

Nerstong laughed, hopping out of Iceland's lap. "Nope, I'm just his brother Nerstong!" Gasps flew across the room. "What? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

America was the first one to recover, face breaking out into a large grin. "Sweet, dude! I can show you how things work around here!"

"You're saying there are two Icelands." Hong Kong rested his head in his chin. "Well, I can't begin to tell you what I'm thinking right now."


	7. Repeat Stuff, Repeat Stuff

"Oh my gosh, the duck is biting him!" Nerstong pointed at America's phone and laughed. "What is this?"

"TikTok is basically Vine reincarnated, and the guy who posted this is brendanxa. Download it immediately." America swiped Nerstong's phone out of his hands, confused. "What generation is this? You're way behind!"

He scoffed, placing a hand on his hip. "What, you want me to get a phone that has no headphone jack just so I can spend more money on AirPods? No thank you."

"They've brainwashed him." Iceland slammed his head down on the table until he got a headache, then hit it a few more times. "He wasn't talking like that yesterday."

"Hmm." Hong Kong tapped a pen against his nose, unaffected by the chaos surrounding him. "Maybe all three of us should hang out together sometime. "

He snatched the pen right out of his hand. "You touch my brother and there won't be a hole in hell for you to hide in, got it?"

"Just you two, got it." He staggered off, forever denying he had turned chalk white at the threat.

"Damn Asians." Iceland sighed, surveying the rest of his family. Denmark was flirting with Norway, Norway was flirting back, Sweden was carrying Finland on his shoulders, and Sealand was probably hiding under the table again. So basically everything was normal aside from his femboy of a brother. Goody.

Nerstong laughed at the dad joke Prussia made, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. "I love you guys already!" His smile dropped as his gaze fell upon Iceland, and he stood up. "Actually, I should probably get going before my family worries about me. Alright?" He left before they could respond, mouthing the word "family" to himself. 

Norway nodded to him. “Ready to go?”

“Mmhmm!” He grabbed his twin’s hand and smiled. “Home we go!”

Iceland glared at him with a light tinge of pink painting his cheeks, embarrassed. “We don’t have to hold hands.”

“Yeah, but I want to!” Nerstong started swinging their arms as they got into the car outside, sliding in gracefully. “I have their numbers!”

“I’m happy for you!” Finland laughed and patted Sealand, hanging over his father’s shoulder. “Is he asleep?”

“Out cold.” Sweden buried his face in his arm to hide his tiny grin. “Is he too old to be doing this?”

“Let him be a kid, big guy.” Denmark snatched Norway’s hair clip out of his hair and clipped it into his own. “How do I look? Adorable?”

Norway shrugged. “It looks good on you, I guess. You-“

“How about you two just kiss already?” Iceland and Nerstong said at the same time.


	8. What Is Personal Space

"Is it my fault?"

Nerstong was spread out across the guest bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wore only a gray tank top that said "Pick Flowers Not Fights" and powder blue boxers. A frown replaced his usual grin, which felt wrong. His eyes followed the texture on the ceiling as he thought about what had happened at the world meeting. He really liked America and Prussia, they were fun. He had fun.

Nerstong had looked over and seen the expression on Iceland's face, that's why he made an excuse to leave. His older(?) brother looked so lonely and sad with no one talking to him anymore, and he could tell he didn't have a lot of friends. He probably felt his new friend was being ripped away from him as he watched, not wanting to ruin his happiness.

"Shoot." Turning and twisting a bit, he jumped down and allowed his feet to make contact with the hardwood floor. Scratch that, COLD hardwood floor. "Mmm, I think carpet would be nice in here." He ran to his door and went out, heading to Iceland's room as his feet pitter-pattered against the floor. Moonlight streamed through the windows, partially illuminating his figure. He only stopped once he was looking down at his brother.

"Go away," Iceland mumbled in his sleep.

Nerstong squealed internally. He talked in his sleep? Adorable! He got down on his knees and placed his head on the bed. "Hi, brother," he whispered. "I think I made you sad earlier, so I wanted to say I'm sorry. I think you're really great and I still want to be friends with you! Especially brothers. I can help you make new friends too, yeah! We can all spend time together doing fun things you want to do! Would you like that?"

Iceland smiled. "Yeah."

"I'm so happy!" He covered his mouth, not wanting to wake him. “Sorry again. Can you tell me the next time you’re feeling bad so I can make it all better? I love you.” Throwing all caution to the wind, he pushed him to the side and climbed in bed with him. “I‘m cold, can I sleep with you?”

“Hmm.” He slowly draped an arm over his body without waking up. 

“Thank you!” Nerstong snuggled up against him happily. “I’m gonna sleep now, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.” Iceland didn’t answer. “Okay, goodnight. Don’t kill me tomorrow.”


	9. (Un)invited Guest

Iceland cursed at the sun peeking through the blinds, yawning. How dare it wake him up before he was ready. He sank into the warm thing that was pressed up against him, since that felt better. Wait, warm thing? He turned his head and came face-to-face with a sleeping Nerstong. 

Oooooookay.

He covered his mouth with his free hand to keep from yelling, trying to pull his other hand out of the boy's grip. "Come on, man!" He sure was a lot stronger than he looked. Speaking of looks, the nosy weirdo was just smiling away without a care in the world. He was probably having some really nice dream or whatever, judging by the happy sigh that brushed past his lips.

Wasn't the kid a morning person? Iceland added that to the list of things they didn't have in common at all. Nerstong gripped his arm even tighter and actually frowned in his sleep. "Oh?"

"Brother," he whimpered. "I'm scared! I don't know what to do about this!"

He sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. Time to play along. "Don't worry about it so much," he whispered. "I'm here for you. Just talk to me if something's wrong, even though I'm not the best with feelings."

Nerstong pressed his lips into a thin line. "Don't want you to leave me. Don't want to be alone again."

"Hey, hey." Ow, his heart. "I'm not going to leave you, no matter what happens. You're my family and I love you." Iceland brushed his hand over his pale cheek. "I promise."

"Pinky promise." His grin was back in place, and he clumsily tried to extend his pinky finger. "Here."

"Pinky promise." He hooked their fingers together and let the touch linger for a bit.

"Emil."

And Iceland's heart melted. "I love you too, Atli. I'm here for you." He closed his eyes and drifted off again.

\---

Nerstong jumped out of the bed an hour later with a yawn, then looked back at his brother. “I’ll see you downstairs!”


	10. At the Hot Topical

"Welcome to Hot Topic." An older teen with dark green hair and snakebite piercings grinned from behind the counter. "Need help finding anything?"

"SHOW ME YOUR CLOTHES!" Nerstong screamed.

"I'm so sorry." Iceland dragged him away from the startled woman, completely mortified. "Don't do that! Just let me show you where things are, okay?"

"Okay." He quickly pointed to the row of band t-shirts on the wall, specifically the Panic! at the Disco one. "Look, it's that band you like! Let's get it!"

He blinked. "You remembered? I thought you would've forgotten by now."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Nerstong searched through the shirts. "It wasn't too long ago."

"I didn't think you'd actually listen and bother remembering," Iceland explained. 

"I remember that you like My Chemical Romance too." He held up one of the shirts to him proudly. "It looks like it'll fit perfectly, but you should still try it on!"

"It looks like it's going to swallow me," he argued.

Nerstong laughed, patting his head. "You like clothes that are big on you! I remember you telling me that too!"

Damn, way to make Iceland feel like a jerk. "Th-thanks. I don't see any Coldplay shirts for you, though. Are there any more bands you like?"

"Sure there are! Wait, what's that one way up there?" He jumped a few times, pouting. "I can't see!"

"Hang on." He grabbed his legs and gave him a quick boost, not even struggling. "You're light."

"I could've just looked on the shelf to see what was where," Nerstong pointed out. "Thanks for the ride, though!" 

Iceland groaned, cursing his existence again. It was like his IQ dropped around the new country. "What band is it?"

"Oh!" He began wiggling around with an excited gasp. "I need to get it! It's so perfect!"

"Stop! I'm going to drop you!" He caught himself just in time and lowered his twin to the ground. "I almost had a heart attack!"

Nerstong stuck out his tongue and grabbed the shirt. "Look, colorful! 1967 picture!"

"The Beatles?" Iceland's face slowly broke out into a wide grin. "You like them too?"

"Like is an understatement! I love them so much, brother! We should listen to them together!" He pressed the shirt up against his chest. “I’m glad I found things in here I like. Hey, look at that rainbow corset over there! Let’s try it on!”

“You go ahead, I’m good.” He groaned as he was roughly shoved into the dressing room. “Noooooo.”


	11. A Dreadful Cantata

"Catch up!"

"Catch up!"

"Cats and kittens!"

"Cats and kittens!"

"Don't get left behind!"

"Get left behind!"

Norway threw his head back and groaned in annoyance. He could hear both Iceland and Nerstong practically screaming song lyrics from upstairs like a bunch of deranged monkeys, which was interrupting his reading. He liked the song, sure, but right now was quiet time for him. 

"Aw, they're like clones!" Denmark cooed. "I can shoot them a text demanding they turn it down!"

"They won't hear the notification over all that." He glanced at his phone longingly.

"Yeah." He suddenly shifted his expression into a pokerface. "Hey, you look really hot when you wear your reading glasses. How much would they fog up when I fuck you?"

Norway choked on his own spit and flopped onto the floor, coughing. "What?!" He pounded on his chest a few times after awkwardly shuffling into a sitting position against the couch.

"That was too good!" Denmark laughed maniacally. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. You okay?"

"I hate you." He glared up at him with the fire of a thousand suns blazing in his eyes.

"Lies." He dropped to his knees and playfully butted their heads together. "Forgive me?"

"No." Norway spun around to face the couch.

"Aw, come on! Please? Please?" Denmark pressed his chest against his back and wrapped his arms around his shoulder. "Look at me."

"No." He bit the inside of his mouth in an attempt not to laugh.

He grabbed his ear between his teeth, growling. "But I love you."

"Fine." Norway chuckled, facing him again. "You have my undivided attention, you stupid Dane. What is it?"

"I think we should resolve this sexual tension between us already. It's driving me insane." Denmark sighed, then pressed their lips together briefly. "Jeg elsker dig. I should've said it sooner."

"Jeg elsker deg også." His face flushed a lovely shade of pink. "But you're still stupid."

"One of us has to be stupid in this relationship to keep it interesting!" He scooped up the discarded spellbook and flipped through the pages. "Or maybe it's you, since you believe this stuff."


	12. Please Don't Blame Yourself

"Okay, okay." Iceland tried to control his giggles. "Goths or vampires?"

"Vampires?" Nerstong squealed as he was playfully shoved halfway off Iceland's bed. "Hey! What's wrong with vampires?"

"Conformists," he growled in a horrible Pete Thelman impression. "Have I taught you nothing?"

"I guess so!" He crawled to the edge of the bed to grab Iceland's phone before it slipped onto the floor. "Thanks for showing me all these cool apps and websites, brother! I've been bored for so long." He stopped, face darkening. "I remember not being able to move for years and years."

Iceland's eyes widened. This was the first time he had brought up his past, and it came out of nowhere. Why was he talking about it? "1944? That's the year I became a country."

"It would've been around then. I didn't have a form until then, you know? I was just kinda there, so I waited. Then I opened my eyes and I had a body and everything!" Nerstong squeezed his hands. "I could feel water touching my legs and feet, it was amazing! Then I was on a little piece of land that was mine for a week before England found me!"

"A week?" His heart dropped. He could've starved out there if he wasn't a country.

He nodded. "He got me my phone and most of my clothes so I could talk to you, he's really nice! And that's how I got here. The end!"

Iceland took in a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts enough so he could channel them into a reply to the information he had just been given. "I'm so sorry. How do you not hate us for leaving you for so long?"

"You didn't know, brother! It's not your fault!" Nerstong's smile was wobbly. "I would be lying if I said I hadn't been a little angry with you or held no resentment, but-"

Resentment.

"I-I need a moment, excuse me." He stumbled into the nearest bathroom and locked it, sliding down the floor in what felt like slow motion. He resented him. His twin resented him. He really had messed up before even meeting him.

**_Too hot in here._ **

**_Can't breathe._ **

"Brother!" Nerstong began beating on the door with his fists. "It's okay, I'm sorry I made you upset! It's my fault!"

His fault? No, that didn't sound right. It wasn't his fault. He was wrong. Wrong wrong **wrong wrong wrong _wrong wrong wrong wrong wro_**

Iceland shook harder as the door rattled and creaked, just managing to get out of the way before it fell in. Nerstong had kicked the damn door down.

"Brother!" He got down on his knees and cupped his face. "Brother, look at me." His tone softened, panic still lacing it. "Look at me. Can you talk?" 

"Nerstong," Iceland wheezed, vision going in and out of focus. "S...orry."

Nerstong shook his head, fighting back the tears. He had to be strong for him. "Shh, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything." He held up three fingers. "Breathe with me, Emil. Do you understand? Breathe in and count to three. One, two, three. Good, let it out. You're doing great. Again. One, two, three. Breathe out."

After a few minutes, he finally stopped feeling like he was going to pass out. His eyes were glossy as he choked on a sob. "How did you-"

"You showed me tumblr, remember? I learned a few things." He slowly helped him to his feet, slinging an arm around his shoulder and allowing him to lean on him. "Do you have panic attacks a lot?"

Iceland shook his head. "No, n-not really. When I do, they're really bad."

Nerstong clicked his tongue. "You need to tell me these things, silly! Let's just get you to your bed."

"Yeah." He yelped as he was suddenly scooped up bridal-style. "What-"

"Just go with it, brother!" And he cheerfully carried him back to his room.


	13. Elton John

Iceland was snoring gently and lying on his stomach, limbs spread out every which way they possibly could. He hadn't moved much in the past several hours. Nerstong rubbed his back and hummed a happy tune mostly to himself. "I'm sorry." He stopped his movements, looking down at his hand. "I hurt you. I'm so sorry I made you feel bad, brother. I want you to be happy and have fun." 

Snore.

"Hmm." Nerstong's eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "Let's talk to other countries at the next meeting and make friends with them, yeah? It'll be fun." He hopped off and ran downstairs, skidding to a stop. "Hi?"

"JESUS CHRIST!" Denmark broke away from kissing Norway and laughed nervously. "Uh, hey there! Back to being a cockblock?"

He tilted his head, confused. "I don't know what that means, but something just happened with Iceland."

Norway immediately shot off the couch, entering Big Brother Mode and grabbing his shoulders. "What happened?!"

"I think he had a panic attack! I calmed him down and he went to sleep!" Nerstong winced. "Please don't squeeze so hard."

He apologized, letting go. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?"

"I mean, I didn't want to just leave him alone! I haven't slept all night!" He yawned, rubbing his eyes. "Needed to make sure he didn't do it again. It was scary for both of us."

"Go to bed, I can watch Iceland for you." Norway shooed him back upstairs. "Oh, and Nerstong?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

Nerstong just nodded and went into the guest room. It felt odd since he hadn't slept in there for at least a week; he was always with Iceland. He sighed, falling asleep as soon as he hit the mattress.

\---

"What is your problem?!" Iceland shouted.

"Eek!" Nerstong was jerked out of his much-needed rest by a very angry  Iceland glaring down at him. "What's my problem? I have many problems, like-"

"That's not what I mean!" His lips twitched as he tried to stay angry at him. "Don't tell my stupid brother things that should remain my business!"

He huffed, sitting up. "For your information, brother," he poked his chest, "I was there when it happened. I helped the situation. Therefore, it is OUR business, and I am just as much a part of this as you are." 

"You..." Iceland couldn't think of a response to that. "Just keep these things between us!"

"Okay!" Nerstong grabbed his phone and unlocked it, launching tumblr. "But I'll have to do it again if you get really hurt. Why are people screaming about a Pride Month on here?"

He froze, blinking rapidly. "Shit, it's June already? I didn't even realize." He quickly grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out of bed. "Come on, we have a lot to do."

"Why? What does Pride Month even mean? What are you proud of?" He continued babbling questions all the way out the front door.


	14. My Whole Family Thinks I’m Gay

"So let me see if I'm getting this. People think it's cute and wonderful when a man and a woman are in love with each other, but if it's a man and a man or a woman and a woman they get mad?" Nerstong's eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"Some do, yeah. It's a crime in certain countries." Iceland was scanning the LGBT products rapidly.

"Why?" He picked up a black tank top with rainbow trim. "Does it affect them? How does it? Is it their business? Do they know what it's like? Can-"

He clamped a hand over his mouth without looking up, sighing. "People don't see eye-to-eye on everything and can be afraid of what they don't understand."

"Oh." Nerstong turned the shirt over in his hands. "Brother, what am I?"

"No idea, that's something you need to find out yourself." He took the top from him and swapped it out for a bigger one. "I guess I could try to help."

"What are you?" he asked.

"Gck!" Iceland pounded on his chest with his fist, forcing air back into his lungs. "You can't just ask people that! It's private!"

Nerstong frowned. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

"One of them." He exhaled, slowly turning to face him. "You're right, I'm not just an ally. I'm doing this because I'm in the community."

"You're gay?" he whispered excitedly. "Or bi? Or pan?"

"No, I don't really want to talk about it right now." Iceland silently checked out without a word. "I-I usually have pride in August called Reykjavík Pride, but it can't hurt to have two. Best to have one during the actual month, yeah?" He hurried out of the store as fast as he could and sat on a nearby bench, looking forlorn. "Don't tell them, please. You already told Norway about the panic attack, but don't tell anyone this. I'm not ready for it."

Nerstong opened his mouth, then closed it. "Okay." He sat down next to him, confused. Was he ashamed of who he was? He didn't seem to have a problem talking about the sexualities he mentioned, so was he something he hadn't brought up? 

"Some people would call you gay just because of your outfit right now," he chuckled.

"What's wrong with my outfit?" He looked down at the lilac crop top, pink jacket, and gray shorts. "I like it."

Iceland nodded. "I know, but you'd usually associate something like that with girls. Typically boys dressing or appearing feminine are thought to be gay."

"But I like it," Nerstong repeated. "Am I gay now? Do I stop being gay if I take it off?"

"Goodbye." He stood up and just walked away. "Let's get the car back before Norway figures out I stole it."

"Wait up, then!" As they ran out of the building, only one question burned in his mind.

_What is my brother afraid of?_


	15. Ace on the Case

"You did WHAT?!" Norway shouted.

"Borrowed the car. Here." Iceland dropped the key in his hand, which immediately clenched into a fist. "I'll be in my room or whatever."

"Hi, much-older brother!" Nerstong just slipped past him, ignoring his mood. "Bye!"

Denmark slowly approached Norway and patted his back. "I guess he did end up getting behind the wheel this century."

"Kill," Norway whispered.

"Here, read this over." Iceland held out his phone. "Since you wanted to know so badly."

Nerstong took it hesitantly, eyes scanning the site. "This is a list of pretty much every sexual or-orient-"

"Orientation."

"That's what I meant."

"I doubt everything will be on there, but it gives a brief explanation for each one and some of the terms. Go nuts." He fell back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, obviously distressed.

"Okay." He read for a bit, grinning at each new piece of information he learned. "People can date more than one person at the same time?"

"Poly, yeah." Iceland rolled onto his stomach. "What do you think about that?"

"More love to go around!" Nerstong raised an eyebrow. "Brother, what is sexual attraction?"

He coughed into his hand. "I-it's when you're attracted to something or someone sexually."

"Oh." A pause. "What's sexually?"

Iceland groaned, rolling his eyes. "I'm not explaining this to you, use the internet."

"Alright." Nerstong typed in silence for a bit, his face gradually filling up with red. "Oh, gross! Get it away!" He hurled the phone back to its owner and shivered. "Ew!"

"Agreed," he muttered. "I don't really get it either."

"You don't?" He took out his own phone and pulled up the website again. "Asexual, an adjective used to describe people who do not experience sexual attraction."

"Uh huh," Iceland replied, not really listening.

"Oh, I get it now." Nerstong flopped down next to him, affectionately nudging his shoulder. "That's who you are."

He gasped, turning to look at him incredulously. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before settling on a quiet sigh. "Yeah," he breathed. His head hit the mattress. "Yeah, that's right."

"Hmm." He suddenly faceplanted with him and giggled. "What are we doing?"

"I'm cursing my existence." Iceland sat up and frowned. "Don't tell anyone what I just told you. It might break their hearts to hear that I'm...not normal."

"Normal?" Nerstong's voice was muffled. "What is normal?"

"Liking those things. Finding people sexually attractive. Being considered part of the community." He scoffed, tugging on his arm. "Take this seriously."

"I am. What's wrong with being asexual? It's a sexuality, which is part of the community, right?" He grinned, taking his hands. "You don't like anyone, then?"

"Panromantic. Pansexual without the sex part." Iceland gently pulled out of his grip. "Have you decided on yours?"

Nerstong shook his head. "No, I need to think more. I'll figure it out soon!"

"No rush, little brother." He smiled fondly. "You can help me with decorations in the meantime."

"RAINBOWS!" he cheered.


	16. Poor Timing, Dane

"That should be good." Iceland scanned the assortment of crepe paper, streamers, glitter, hats, sunglasses, and an incredible assortment of other clothing items spread out on his floor. "What do you think?"

"I've never seen so many colors in my life!" Nerstong picked up one of the packages. "I've decided I like glitter now!"

"Okay, just keep it in the bag and don't get it everywhere. It's like fairy herpes." He chuckled.

He dropped the package. "What's this plastic thing here?"

Iceland took it, tugging on a band. "Glitter cannon so we can spread the herpes."

"What are her-you know what? I don't think I want to know." Nerstong stuck out his tongue. "The last time I tried to look a word up I saw gross stuff."

"You did." He paused, rubbing a thumb over the cannon. "You find it gross, then? Sex?"

"Maybe, I don’t know.” He tapped his chin. “Earlier I-“

“COME GET DINNER, ASSHOLES!” Denmark shouted.

“Tell me later.” Iceland grabbed his hand and dragged him all the way into the kitchen where everyone else was already seated. “We’re here.”

“Good!” Finland giggled, pointing at his hair. “Is that glitter?”

“Shiny.” Nerstong picked some of it out and threw it at Denmark. “Here!”

Denmark gasped, placing a hand on his chest. “How could you?”

“I heard you singing that you shine bright like a Denmark,” he explained, causing Denmark to blush and Norway to smirk. “Now you do!”

“Priceless.” Iceland nodded once, fork still in his mouth. “You did a good job, Finland. You should do this every night.”

“Thank you!” Finland looked at both of them. “We’ve hardly seen you two all day, what have you been doing?”

“Oh, we...” Nerstong saw Iceland silently shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. “We just hung out like usual! And before that I was in my room watching this thing called porn!” Every single person spit out whatever was in their mouth. Denmark fell out of his chair laughing, Norway choked on his bread, Finland covered a giggling Sealand’s ears, Sweden bit his lip, and Iceland just facepalmed. “What?”

“Why. Why would you say that.” Iceland grabbed his glass of water and gulped it down. “And why would you watch that.”

He shrugged. “I really want to find out who I am. I’ve come to the conclusion that I might be asexual.”

“Huh?” Denmark pulled himself back into his chair. “You reproduce without a mate?”

“No, I don’t think I feel sexual attraction at all.” Nerstong glanced down at his plate. “Maybe, I’m not sure. Labels confuse me.”

“How can you not like sex, you weirdo?” He quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, panic in his eyes. “Is this a disease? Am I gonna catch it?”

“It’s not contagious!” he exclaimed. “It’s a real and valid-“

“I-I’m finished.” Iceland suddenly pushed his chair in and took off upstairs, not looking at anyone. The sound of his bedroom door slamming shut and locking followed soon after.

“Yeesh, what’s his problem?” Denmark shrugged, grabbing things from his abandoned plate. “Kids these days. Dude, you’re shaking.”

Nerstong looked down at his hands. They were shaking, then they clenched into fists. He lifted his gaze to him. Sealand yelped and hid under the table from his expression. “Dammit.”


	17. Explosive Reactions

Emotions were a complex thing, Nerstong had come to learn. There were the ones he felt often, such as happiness, or confusion, or excitement. But this time he couldn't place what he felt at the moment. It seemed familiar, but way more extreme. He wanted to yell and break things and berate himself. Anger-no, rage. White-hot rage. And it was towards the idiot sitting across from him at the table.

"Stay back." Sweden threw one arm in front of Finland and the other in front of Norway. Sealand didn't move from his hiding spot, whimpering softly.

Denmark cocked his head, confused. "What? Is it because of the acesexual thing or whatever it's called? I can understand wanting to bang girls or guys, but no one at all? It sounds so unnatural to-"

Nerstong was suddenly directly in front of him, inches from his face. It was very uncomfortable, especially since they were around the same height. "Do you know what you've just done?" His voice was deathly calm, yet icy and venomous.

"Um..." He could actually feel the heat emitting from the teen's beet-red face. "N-no?"

"You've fucked up is what you've done!" he shouted. "How dare you say those things just because you don't understand?!"

Denmark flinched, holding out his hands. "I've never heard of it before! Is it a real thing?"

"OF COURSE IT IS A REAL THING!" Nerstong raised his fist and kept it hovering near his stomach. "There's nothing wrong with it! Asexuality is a part of the community, and you can FIGHT me!" 

"I'm sorry?" he offered.

He scoffed, taking a step back. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, stupid." Then he lunged at him and punched him in the gut.

\---

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck." Iceland sat on his bed with his legs pulled up to his chest, tears streaking his flushed face. That settles it. He was never going to come out to them. He was keeping his secret a secret forever.

Knock knock knock.

"Fuck off," he whimpered.

"It's me." Nerstong closed his eyes.

"Oh." Iceland stumbled to his feet and went to unlock the door, stepped   
aside so he could enter. "Hi."

"Hi." He winced, looking down at his hand. "So I punched him in the stomach."

"You did?" His jaw dropped. "How did he take it?"

"Oh, he took it great. I hurt my hand on him." Nerstong looked unamused. "Teach me how to make a proper fist sometime."

"Sure, I'll even demonstrate." Iceland pulled him onto his bed, tears returning. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made this about me. He was talking to you."

"I don't care who he was talking to, brother. It hurt you." He squeezed his hand, smiling softly. "It's going to be okay." He brushed away his tears, hand still lingering for a bit. 

"They probably know now after the way I ran off." Iceland cried harder.

Nerstong pouted, eyebrows knitting together. "Then they can deal with it."

He nodded, sniffling. "I love you."

"Aw, I love you too! Blame me for this if you need someone to blame. I brought it up in the first place." He laid down with a soft sigh. "I mess a lot of things up."

"You and me both." Iceland flopped down next to him. "I don't blame you."

"That's sweet of you." He made a motion with his hand. “Roll over, I’ll make you feel better.”

“Okay.” He sighed as his hands gently rubbed his back. Things like this made him feel like the younger one, but he found he didn’t mind at all.


	18. Paint It Black

"You sure this is washable?"

"Uh, I think so."

The twins clumsily splashed red paint on the smallest of the three cars the family owned, exchanging evil glances. "What do we do when they find out we did this without asking?" Nerstong wondered.

"Film it." Iceland reached for a brush, then decided to just stick his whole hand in the container of orange paint. "This might be quicker."

"Yeah, maybe!" He smeared a bit of paint over the windshield too for good measure. "We'll still be able to see out of it, right?"

"Probably. We won't be driving very fast." Iceland saw him reaching for several tubes and containers, causing him to groan. "What are you planning?"

"Brother, watch this!" Nerstong scooped up the blue and slammed his palm against the hood, leaving behind a perfect handprint. "Well? What do you think?"

"Nerstong, you magnificent bastard." He copied him with green and purple, then jumped down. "Get it all over the car."

He even painted the hubcaps with all the colors they had, mixing them into a dark mess. "Whoops, it doesn't look pretty now."

"Mixing too many colors can cause that." Iceland snorted as he watched him take his shoes off and cover his feet with paint. "Really? That too?"

"If you won't do it, I will." Nerstong hoisted himself back onto the car and began crawling around the roof on his hands and feet. "Look, I'm making use of my resources!" Then he stood up.

"Oh my god, don't do that!" He scrambled after him and grabbed him around the waist, sending them both sprawling. "You'll dent it!"

He grinned, slowly touching his nose with an orange-covered finger. "Boop."

Iceland just gaped at him. "You got paint on my face."

"Mmhmm! What are you going to do about it?" Nerstong smeared a line across his cheek.

"You little shit!" He pulled a blue paint tube out of his pocket and aimed it right at his face.

"Eek!" He squealed in delight and snatched it away, squirting paint dangerously close to his mouth. "Eat paint, loser!"

"Never!" Iceland tackled him against the roof of the car, and they rolled around giggling. "Surrender!"

"No, you!" Nerstong threw his head back and laughed merrily, pointing at his hair. "It looks like you dyed it!"

He snorted, placing a hand on his chest. "Your shirt is ruined forever!"

"Fashion statement!" he argued. They continued smearing paint all over each other and screaming, which attracted a certain someone's attention.

"What is all the..." Norway's words died in his throat as he took in the scene in front of him. Iceland and Nerstong froze in place. "Wha?"

"Hey." Iceland waved awkwardly. "We were-"

"NERSTONG SAYS GAY RIGHTS!" Nerstong jumped off the car and grabbed his hand. "RUUUUUUUN!"

"YOU GOT PAINT ALL OVER MY _WHITE_ CAR?!" Norway shrieked.

"It's washable!" he called over his shoulder.

"Yeah!" He looked over at him as they sprinted down the street. "It is washable, right? Right?"


	19. Pride

The parade was already a success only ten minutes in. Iceland groaned, foot gently pressing the accelerator. "Do I really have to do this?" 

"Mmhmm!" Nerstong nodded, unstrapping his seatbelt and forcing himself through the sunroof. "Just start it and I'll do the rest!"

 _“Love, love, love  
Love, love, love  
Love, love, love!" _He shrank under the stares he received. "Now you do whatever."

_"There's nothing you can do that can't be done  
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung  
Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game  
It's easy_

_Nothing you can make that can't be made  
No one you can save that can't be saved  
Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time  
It's easy_

_All you need is love  
All you need is love  
All you need is love, love  
Love is all you need!"_ He pointed at him. "Again!"

Iceland wished he was literally anyone else at that moment. _"Love, love, love  
Love, love, love  
Love, love, love!"_

"Yay!" Nerstong waved to the crowd, most of which waved back. _"All you need is love  
All you need is love  
All you need is love, love  
Love is all you need_

_There's nothing you can know that isn't known  
Nothing you can see that isn't shown  
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be  
It's easy_

_All you need is love  
All you need is love  
All you need is love, love  
Love is all you need!"_ He ducked back in the car to give him a pleading look. "Do this too. _All you need is love!"_

 _"All together now,”_ he sighed.

_"All you need is love!"_

_"Everybody.”_

_"All you need is love, love  
Love is all you need  
Love is all you need   
Love is all you need!"_

_"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah  
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!"_

All the two of them could hear now was cheering, which was deafening. Nerstong said something that was drowned out by all the noise. He smiled and waved. "That was so cool, brother!"

"What?!" Iceland shouted. "Oh, yeah! I guess it was!"

"You're turning into meeeeee!" He spread out his arms. "We're almost dressed the same!" They were both wearing black shorts and shirts with the asexual flag on them, except Nerstong's was a tube top and Iceland's a tank (he had drawn the line at a tube top and even the tank was pushing it).

"That's horrifying!" He finally came to a stop and jumped out of the car. "Uh, thanks?"

"Yeah, you're all awesome!" Nerstong crawled out through the sunroof and stood on the car. "I love you!"

"Is that your boyfriend?" someone asked.

Iceland coughed. "No, he's actually my-"

"You should kiss him!" The whole crowd started chanting for them to kiss over and over again.

"I'm his brother!" Nerstong frowned. "They can't hear me. Oh well." He slid off the car and wrapped his arms around Iceland, kissing his cheek. "Good enough?"

"Uh." He blinked a few times. Was it possible to blush as hard as he was? "I-"

"Let's go do stuff!" He grabbed his hand and dragged him off before he could recover.


	20. Being Gay Is Exhausting

"We're baaaaaaaaack!" Nerstong threw the door open. "That was fun!" He immediately ran to Sealand, who was sitting on the couch playing with action figures. "Whatcha doing, munchkin?"

Sealand ignored the question. "We saw you on TV in a big parade! It was so wonderful and pretty!"

"We were on TV?" Iceland poked his head in. "Did all of you watch?"

"Yeah, we did." Denmark looked...ashamed? He was biting his lip and fiddling with his hands, glancing around awkwardly.

He paled. No. Oh no. "Nerstong, they know."

"Know wh-shit." Nerstong nodded once, then stepped in front of him with his chest puffed out. "Don't worry, brother."

"Uh, what are you doing?" Iceland asked.

"Just go with it," he whispered back.

"So both of you are asexual." Sweden's expression was unreadable as always.

Nerstong took in a deep breath, glaring. "Yeah, we are! Guess what, he's my brother and I love him! I won't let you hurt him in any way!"

"Chill out, dude!" Denmark held out his hands as if to ward him off. "Nobody's getting hurt today, got it? I'm sorry about the stuff I said a few days ago."

"You should never feel ashamed to talk about these things with us, Emil. We love you." Norway squeezed his shoulder, grinning. "You can punch the Dane if you want."

Finland squeaked. "Let's not do that. I'm proud of both of you, though! Sexuality can be scary and confusing! Congratulations!"

"What he said." Sweden's mouth twitched a bit. 

Iceland's jaw hung open as he took in the words from his family. They didn't care. They were okay with him being different. He didn't realize he was crying until Nerstong was dabbing at his face with a tissue. "I love you," he croaked.

"Good." Norway's expression morphed into an angry one. "But speaking of gay things, you're still cleaning the car."

"We already tried," Nerstong blurted out. "I hit it with the hose as soon as we got back and nothing happened."

"RUN!" Iceland grabbed his hand, and they both went to his room and locked it. "Why did you tell?! I could've fixed it!"

"How?! Buying white craft paint and silently repairing it?!" He crossed his arms with a "hmph" on his lips. "You're mean, brother."

He sputtered, throwing his hands in the air. "I-I give up! I'm tired!" He groaned, then dropped like a tree onto his bed. "God, gay shit wears me out."

"Yeah." Nerstong yawned, joining him. "It was really fun, though. I'm glad I got to go with you."

"I'm glad you went with me too." Iceland sighed, brushing some hair out of his face. "You look like you're thinking about something."

He nodded, staring at the wall for a few moments. "I think I like boys," he said finally. "I like girls too, not like that. They're pretty, sure, but it's not really the same."

"Mmm, I see. You sound like a homoromantic asexual." He smirked, raising his head. "What, were you checking out guys at the parade?"

"No." Nerstong's whole face blushed red, even up to his ears and down to his neck. "I-I don't have a specific person in mind. Still um, figuring things out. Whatever. Goodnight!" He pulled the blanket over his head and dozed off almost instantly.

"Alright then." Iceland chuckled, taking Nerstong's phone to plug it in.


	21. Socialization at a Price

"America, I want you to say hi to my big brother!" Nerstong announced proudly. "You know each other?"

"We do, actually! I was the first to acknowledge his independence!" America laughed, ruffling Iceland's hair. "Aw, cutie!"

"We're practically identical, does that make me cute too?" He nibbled on his finger shyly.

He nodded. "You're both adorable! How have you been, Ice?"

"Okay." Iceland ducked his head, trying to hide his blush. "I-I should go see what Hong Kong is doing." He turned on his heel and sprinted off.

Nerstong pursed his lips. "Does he have a crush on him or something?"

"Totally, man. Watch how they look at each other." America smiled fondly. "I heard about the huge splash you made at your pride parade, and damn that was a really brave thing to do! Were you scared?"

"Was it?" he hummed. "A little, but I wasn't alone with brother with me!"

He grinned and patted his shoulder. "You love him a lot, huh?"

"Of course I love him a lot!" Nerstong beamed. "He's my family! He's strong and brave and he helps me understand things and protects me! I don't know what I'd do without him!"

"That's sweet! Haha, its almost like you love-love him with how much you like talking about him," America laughed.

"I do, I love love all my family," he said, confused.

"Oh." He pinched the bridge of his nose in amused exasperation. "No, here's what I mean, silly!"

"What do you think they're talking about?" Liechtenstein had her hands clasped in front of her face. "They are very into that conversation."

"Yeah," Iceland sighed. "He better not scare him off."

She hummed, nodding. "And you're sure he's a boy? I thought he was a girl."

"Clothes trip people up sometimes, but I'm sure he's a boy. I doubt he would be much different if he were a girl." His eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, can you and him hang out sometime?"

"Maybe?" She glanced over at Switzerland and waved shyly. "If big brother lets me then I'd love to! But why me?"

"I think he'd appreciate having a female friend to make him all 'pretty' or whatever," Iceland snorted. "Do you have a lot of dresses?"

Liechtenstein smirked. "You have no idea."

"Perfect." He was suddenly tapped on the shoulder by his younger brother, causing him to jump. "Oh, hey."

Nerstong bit his lip and tapped his fingers together, looking about to cry. "Can we go home?"

Iceland gasped, nodding quickly. "Of course, I'll go snatch Norway's keys. Did something happen with America?"

"Not here," he whispered. 

"Okay, got it. Let's go." He quickly scrambled to get the car keys off his older brother. He was going to die for this, wasn't he?


	22. A Buck an Ear

"America told me it's not right to love your siblings."

Iceland looked at Nerstong incredulously. "He did what?!"

"Well, he said society doesn't think it's right." Nerstong sniffled. "I'm so confused! He said it was something called 'incest' and people think it's gross! Is our family gross?"

"Oh my god." He faceplanted directly onto the horn. "No, Nerstong. Incest is when you love a family member like a lover, okay? That's what he meant."

"Really?" He tilted his head. "That's what incest is?"

"Yes. It's illegal pretty much everywhere, including my country. If a brother and a sister aren't under eighteen, that's about four years imprisonment." Iceland raised his head. "Why were you even talking about that with him, anyway?"

"Dunno." Nerstong peeked at him from behind his bangs. "He also said you like Hong Kong."

"He doesn't know what he's talking about." He gripped the steering wheel tighter. "He's crazy."

"I won't tell anyone if you do," he promised. 

”Fine. Maybe a little, but he is one of the Asians. They can be huge perverts." Iceland glanced at the clock, huffing. "Well, we still have several hours until we need to catch our flight. You want to just drive around and explore?"

"Explore?!" Nerstong squealed, kicking his legs. "Yeah! I like America's country a lot! Where are we gonna go?"

He hummed, thinking for a moment. What would be a place they both would enjoy? Somewhere they'd feel comfortable? 

Yeah, he was drawing a blank. 

"Where do you want to go?"

"A place with adventure," he whispered cryptically. "Like a fun store or something!"

"Do you even have American currency on you?" Iceland's lips curled into a smirk at his lack of a response. "That's what I thought. You're lucky I have some."

Nerstong narrowed his eyes. “You’re a lifesaver, brother. What’s nearby?”

“Oh god, I see a Claire’s.” He, very reluctantly, pulled over to park in front of the store. “Surprise.”

“Thank you!” He leaned over and pulled him into a quick hug before getting out of the car and sprinting off. “Yaaaaaaay!”

“My ribs. You cracked my ribs.” Iceland followed after him much slower as he wrapped an arm around his chest, trying to breathe. That kid was strong. 

“Look, look! Earrings!” Nerstong gestured wildly to the rack. “Can I get them? Please?”

He chuckled, which pained him a bit. “You have to have pierced ears for that unless you buy the magnetic or clip-on ones.”

“No, I want real! Can I get my ears pierced? Can I? Can I?” His excitement caught the attention of an employee. “Ma’am, these are really pretty! I want them!”

“I’m glad you like them, but you need to wear the ones we use to pierce for about six to ten weeks before you can change them.” She smiled kindly. “Are you still interested?”

“Yeah, I can wait!” Nerstong hopped right into the chair and bounced excitedly. “Let’s do it! I want the little diamonds!”

“Are either of you eighteen?” the employee asked.

“Um, here.” Iceland shakily handed her his (fake) ID. “You know this is going to hurt, right?”

She shrugged, using a marker to make dots where the earrings would go in. “Beauty is pain, boys.” She placed a teddy bear in Nerstong’s lap. “You can hug this if you want.”

“Aw!” Nerstong rocked it a bit before handing it back to her. “It’s okay, I’ll just hold my brother’s hand.”

“Here.” He held out his hand for him to take. “Don’t worry, it won’t take too long. I’ve done it before.”

“They closed up, huh?” He pouted. “I bet they looked cool.”

“Okay, one.”

Nerstong closed his eyes.

“Two.”

Iceland tensed as his hand was squeezed so hard it shook.

“Three.”


	23. Closer Than You Think

"Hey." Nerstong slithered up beside Sweden. "Swe. Look. It's been six to ten weeks. You like them?" He pointed to his crescent moon earrings. 

"Nice." Sweden raised an eyebrow as the teen grabbed his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"You're really tall!" He started climbing the man like a monkey. "It's so cool!"

He grunted. "Thanks. I think." Sealand tended to climb him a lot, so it was weird for a seventeen-year-old to suddenly start. But he wasn't heavy, so there wasn't really a problem.

"Hey, where's brother? He wouldn't get up earlier." He stopped with his legs wrapped around his waist and hands on his shoulders.

He shrugged, causing Nerstong to fumble. "Haven't seen him either. Probably still in bed."

"Thank youuuu!" Nerstong jumped down and hit the ground running. "We should hang out more!"

Iceland slowly raised his head at the sound of his door opening, looking a little paler than usual. He plastered on a weak smile. "Hey."

"Why aren't you up?" he asked. "You're sleeping even later than usual!"

"Don't feel great, to be honest. Stomach hurts or whatever." He raised a hand to his face. "Nice earrings. You think Norway is still mad about it?"

"He's never getting over it." Nerstong gently sat down on his bed in a way that wouldn't upset his stomach further. "Are you sick? Do I need to take care of you?"

Iceland shook his head. "It's probably nothing, but I guess you can try taking care of me if you want."

"Yes! It is I, Dr. Steilsson!" He placed his hands on his sides. "I am here to assist you!"

"Steilsson?" He slowly sat up, grunting. "You want to have my name?"

Nerstong laughed. "When did I ever say I didn't? You're my brother!"

"Oh." Iceland found himself fighting back tears. That was so touching. "Well, I think it's a good name for-" He suddenly seized up, eyes wide and mouth open.

"Brother?" He searched his vacant eyes in alarm. "Brother, what's wrong? Are you hurt?! Answer me!"

"N-N-N-" he stuttered, back arching unnaturally. "Djöfullinn!"

Nerstong blinked. "Come again?"

"DJÖFULLINN!" Iceland gasped, reaching to grab his shoulders. "FUCK, FUCK!"

"What's hurting?!" He jerked backwards and cried out in agony. "What is this?! Why am _I_ hurting?!"

He choked, shaking his head rapidly. Not his brother. Please not his brother too. He didn't deserve this. He tried to speak, only to be cut off by his own swearing and choking. "RÆKALLIN ANDSKOTIN FJANDI FUCKING HELL RIDDU MÉR!"

Nerstong broke into loud sobbing as he wrapped his arms around his middle and rocked back and forth. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Thundering footsteps were coming up the stairs. "Iceland!" Finland kicked open the door, the rest of the Nordics following. "Öræfajökull is going to erupt!"


	24. Blowing Your Top

"It's affecting Nerstong!" Denmark shouted. "We need to do something!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay." Norway got down next to Iceland and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Big brother is here now. You're going to be okay."

"I feel like death!" Iceland twisted and kicked his blankets off of him. Too hot. Too cold. 

He nodded. "I'm sorry, little brother! I'm trying my best!"

"Try harder!" Sealand begged.

"Vaddírassgat!" Iceland hissed. Finland fainted.

"I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!" Nerstong wailed. "AND WHY AM I HURTING?!"

"One of Iceland's volcanos is active again," Denmark explained. "He always has a lot of pain when that happens! Since you can feel it too, I guess we know you're really brothers and don't need a DNA test?" he joked nervously.

Iceland's eyes shot open just long enough to glare at him nastily before screwing shut again. "EVERYBODY OUT! NOW!" They all left, Sweden carefully dragging Finland.

"I'm going to die by the same thing that brought me into this world! What if land shifts again and I sink into the ocean or something?!" Nerstong was full-on sobbing into his twin's shoulder, gripping him tightly. "I don't want to die!"

"Listen, you!" He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him closer. "You're not going to die, you hear me?" He whimpered, clutching his abdomen. "If you die, I'm dying too! I can't do this without you!"

"Dammit, I'm not worth it!" he hissed. "I'm just some stupid piece of dirt that came out of the water!"

"Shut the fuck up! You are worth everything and more! You're my brother!" Iceland panted, tears streaming down his cheeks. "My brother."

"I love you," Nerstong murmured. "I love you so much."

"Me too." He tilted his head as he leaned back to look at him. "Wh-what?"

"I love you." He closed his eyes and brought him into a tender kiss.

The pain had disappeared for a moment as Iceland forgot how to breathe. He was being kissed. He was having his first kiss. He was having his first kiss with Nerstong. It was with his own brother. This was bad.

"Mmm." Nerstong moaned quietly into his mouth, threading his fingers through his hair and tugging gently. 

Screw it.

He kissed back clumsily, mind foggy. He had no idea what he was doing and he probably sucked but holy shit it was perfect in every way. He broke away with a gasp when a sharp stab of pain pierced his head. "A-Atli..."

"Emil." He peered at him from underneath his bangs, smiling shyly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, little brother." Iceland returned the smile. "You know what, I really respect women."

"What?!" Nerstong laughed. "Where did that come from?"

"I mean, those cramps in our stomachs we get during this are like the cramps girls get. Women are hardcore." He curled into a little ball and whined. "Fuck me!"

He groaned, rubbing his middle. "I second that!"


	25. Advice

It took several days before both countries felt well again and could get out of bed. They hadn't spoken since the kissing incident. Nerstong was back to sleeping in his room, away from Iceland. They were clearly avoiding each other.

Finland noticed first.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" He sat down on the younger boy's bed.

"Hmm?" Nerstong's eyes looked empty. "Nothing, just tired from all the volcano stuff."

Finland frowned disapprovingly. "Is that really all? You're sure there's nothing else?"

He sat up, looking away. "Have you ever done something in the moment that felt right, then later realized it was wrong?"

"Everyone has." He patted his shoulder. "It's a part of life, don't worry. What did you do?"

"I did something very, very bad." Nerstong's lip wobbled. He was going to cry again. "I wasn't thinking and I did something disgusting!"

"Shh, shh." Finland carefully gathered him in his arms and rocked him back and forth. He patted his back and kissed the top of his head. "You don't have to tell me if you aren't ready. It's okay, none of us love you any less, no matter what happened."

"I-I kissed him," he blubbered. "I kissed my own brother!"

Finland made a nose of confusion. "So?"

"On the lips!" Nerstong added.

"Oh. Oh. I see. Okay." He closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Oh boy, okay. Give me a minute." He opened them. "Let's back up. Why did you do it?"

He whimpered, pressing his fingers together. "Because I love him." 

"In what way?"

"In love."

Shit. Finland had not signed up for this. He gulped, considering the consequences. "What do you know about what you did?"

"It's called incest, and it's illegal." Nerstong wiped frantically at his eyes, drying his tears. "Am I gonna go to jail and never see any of you again?"

"No, no. That will never happen to you." He squeezed him tight. "We will protect you."

"Thank you." He drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

\---

Iceland growled, trying to avoid the curious eyes that were on him. "Will you go away if I tell you what's wrong?!"

"Maybe." Norway smirked.

"This is going to sound so weird. After you left a few days ago, um..." He blushed, very heavily. "Nerstong kissed me."

His jaw dropped. "He what?"

"He kissed me! He said he loved me, and then he was kissing me!" Iceland tugged at his hair. "I didn't see it coming! It literally was out of nowhere, you know?"

"What happened next?" he pressed.

"I was gonna pull away, right? Then he grabbed my hair and he made this noise and I-I just kissed him back. I forgot who it was and that it was wrong because it felt so good. It wasn't wrong." Iceland shook his head rapidly. "No, it is wrong! It just didn't feel like it, okay?! I shouldn't have done it!"

Norway was at a loss for words. What the hell was he supposed to say to that? Goddammit. "What did you do?"

"We stopped, and he said he loved me again." He squirmed in place, obviously uncomfortable. "I think I fucked up. I said I loved him too."

"How did you mean it?" He rubbed his arm.

Iceland shrugged. "Don't know, just slipped out. I think maybe I-never mind." He hissed, pulling away. "Why did this have to happen? I like Hong Kong, don't I? Why would I say that to my own brother?"

"I can't help you there." Norway looked regretful. "There is one thing I can tell you."

"What?" he whispered.

"I'm not disgusted or angry." He stood up and walked out of his room, leaving him to his thoughts. Finland nodded once to him on the way down. They both shared an unreadable expression.


	26. Burning Spirits

"We need to talk."

Talk? Nerstong grinned, nodding. "Yes! I missed you, brother! I have so much to tell you!"

"Nerstong," Iceland sighed. "We can't do this and you know it."

His face dropped. "Why not?" he whined, lips pressing into a thin line. "Cuz it's illegal? Socially wrong? You don't love me like that? You're afraid of people's reactions? You-"

"Yes, yes, doesn't matter, and yes! Can we just forget about it?" He was almost begging, eyes frantic. "Let's have everything go back to the way it was before."

"We can't just do that, brother!" Nerstong snapped. "Maybe you can forget it, but I can't! I know how I feel, and I can't just change it out of nowhere! Tell me you don't feel the same!"

"I..." Iceland trailed off, muttering to himself. This was bad. "You don't know how you feel, you're too young and new to understand it. Don't you want to like America or something? He's an alright guy."

He growled, clenching his fists. " _I_ don't know how _I_ feel?! _You_ don't know how I feel! You can't just say I'm too young to not know what I want when you were able to figure out yourself!"

"Atli Steilsson, you cannot compare this to sexuality! IT IS LITERAL INCEST!" He gasped, then covered his mouth. "Shit."

Denmark poked his head in. "Uh, are you guys fucking?"

"NO!" they both shouted.

"Okay, just checking. Bye." He brushed past a surprised Sweden, who immediately covered Sealand's ears.

Nerstong puffed out his cheeks. "Goodbye, Emil." He ran out of his brother's room and the house, not stoping his running until he collapsed from exhaustion. 

"Jesus Christ," Iceland sighed. When had his human name ever hurt so much to hear?

Sweden pushed Sealand downstairs and slowly sat down next to Iceland, a hand landing on his shoulder. "Incest?"

He snorted. "I never expected that word to come out of your mouth. Sorry you had to hear it."

He continued staring at him, gaze hardening. "Why?"

"He thinks he's in love with me." Iceland looked away guiltily. "He's been acting weird ever since the pride festival. See, the crowd mistook us for a couple and wanted us to kiss, so he kissed my cheek. Maybe that's how it started? Then the volcano, he said he loved me and we kissed. And you know what?" He finally turned to look at him. "I can't place all the blame on him when I'm the one who kissed back."

"Hmm." Sweden exhaled through his nose, staring straight ahead at the wall. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. 

Of course, the quieter of the two broke the silence. "You don't want to lose him, Iceland. He's important to you, and literally anybody and everybody can figure that out."


	27. The Bridge of Ice

The hours passed, from three o'clock to four, to five and to six. Nerstong still hadn't come back.

"Iceland, your brother's dinner is going to get cold if he doesn't come down here soon!" Finland chirped, oblivious to the uneasy glances exchanged. 

"He's not here." Iceland was gripping his fork tightly in his fist. "He left a while ago."

He tilted his head. "What? Where did he go?"

"We had a fight and he just ran. I thought he'd be home by now." The fear in his eyes betrayed his apathetic attitude.

"Well, don't just sit there! Go get him!" Finland leapt out of his chair, tossing him the car keys. "Take these, you'll need them! Look around here and anywhere you think he would hide! Go!" He shoved him out the door and locked it behind him. "Oh, I hope he remembered his phone!"

Norway just groaned, faceplanting into his dinner. "Why does he always end up in a car no matter how hard I try to prevent it?"

"Because you're babying him and he rebels against you since he doesn't appreciate it, which I do not blame him at all for doing." Sweden blinked, finding all eyes on him. "What, I can't speak in long sentences sometimes?"

Denmark laughed nervously. "Norge, I think he's got a point. We can't keep him a kid forever." He abandoned his plate to stand behind Norway and squeeze his shoulders. "We can just have our own!"

"That's not possible." Norway angrily cleaned the food off his face. 

"You have me!" Sealand smiled, tugging his leg.

"I said what I said, Seabrat." Denmark plucked him off like he was a bug.

Finland sighed, pushing his plate away. "I can't eat at a time like this! I'm going to help Iceland!"

"Might as well!" He scooped up Norway bridal-style and kissed him hard. "You ready?"

"Do I have a choice?" 

"Bye." Sweden just watched the three of them run out the door. He sighed, turning to his adopted son. "So, LEGOS?"

"LEGOS!" Sealand cried.


	28. Did I Even Make a Sound

The sun would set again in several hours.

Iceland had been driving for at least twenty hours, searching all of Reykjavík for Nerstong. He had no luck, so he went out of the city to Akureyri, then to Ísafjörður, then to Egilsstaðir. Still nothing. It was light out and he was tired, but he continued on. The clock said it was 7:21 in the evening. Hoping for a distraction, he punched the button to turn the radio on.

_All you need is love  
All you need is love  
All you need is love, love  
Love is all you-_

Iceland growled, turning it off. He remembered when he and Nerstong sang that in the parade, not caring if anyone saw or heard them being silly. Well, Iceland had cared at first. They both smiled brightly as they screamed the lyrics at the top of their lungs. It seemed like a long time ago.

Egilsstaðir vanished in the rearview mirrors, leading him back to square one. Where else could he check? He was a night owl, but this many hours was really pushing it. Drowsiness was setting in. He needed sleep. No, think. Nerstong would want to go somewhere private and secluded if he was upset. Where did such a place exist?

Iceland smacked his forehead in annoyance for not thinking of it sooner.  Hallormsstaður National Forest. He had to be hiding there. He made a U-turn and looped back into  Egilsstaðir, heading to the center. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but he was desperate. 

_Haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?!_

Iceland picked up the phone without looking. "What."

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Finland screamed. He winced, holding the phone away from his ear. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED WE ARE?! WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER OUR TEXTS?!"

"Looking for my brother." His speech slurred. "I'm close."

"Close?!" Norway took over. "It's been almost a full day! Just tell us where you are so we can pick you up!"

"Absolutely fucking not, _big brother._ I'm not stopping until I find him." Iceland smiled weakly at the sight of Hallormsstaður. "Gotta go." He hung up and tossed his phone in the passenger's seat. Nothing could stop him now. Well, maybe Norway's wrath, but that would be an issue once he got back home.

The car's tired squealed as he skidded to a rough stop. He immediately threw the door open and grabbed his phone before stumbling out into the light. Didn't matter. He pushed past a few tourists and sprinted into the forest as fast as he possibly could. His vision was getting hazy.

Don't give up now. Don't fall asleep. You're so close.

Iceland ignored the trail markers and burst through the foliage. Leaves fluttered all around him. Sunlight was streaming in less and less the deeper he traveled. No people were around. His eyelids felt heavy.

Don't

That was it. He collapsed to his knees, scraping them on sticks and rocks. He fell facedown into the dirt and closed his eyes. 

give up.


	29. RAM

"Catch up."

Everything was dark. Was it already that late? No, Iceland had fallen asleep, and his eyes were closed. They wouldn't obey his brain's command to open. 

"Catch up."

Catch what up? He finally opened his eyes, still finding darkness.

"Cats and kittens."

Iceland kicked himself. No shit it was dark, his face was in dirt.

"Cats and kittens."

Who the hell kept talking? He groaned, trying to push himself into a sitting position. Someone grabbed his hand, which made him yelp. The person gently lifted him out of the dirt and brushed it off his face. Still dark, the sun was gone.

"Don't get left behind." The person smiled fondly, looking down at him.

"Get left behind." Iceland allowed them to pull him to his feet until they were both level with each other. He turned on his phone's flashlight and held it up to their face, even though he had already figured out this was no stranger. "Hey, Nerstong."

Nerstong grinned, squinting from the brightness. "Recognized our song, brother? I'm so happy!" He cleared his throat, glancing down at their intertwined hands. "Sorry, you probably don't want that." He ripped them away like they had been burned. "What is it?"

He blinked, then groaned in annoyance. "You've been gone for over a day, you idiot. Why are you here?"

"Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be mad at you." His face morphed into a scowl for about two seconds before returning to normal. "But I'm not. Well, not anymore. I've had a lot of time to think about things out here." He idly traced the veins of a leaf that had landed in the palm of his hand, gazing up at the sky. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving? What does that mean?" Iceland pointed behind him. "I spent twenty hours looking for you. How did you even get here so fast on foot? It would've taken days."

"Bus. And I mean I'm leaving your house so you won't have to deal with me anymore." Nerstong rubbed at a spot of dirt on his cheek. "I won't be your problem and make you uncomfortable with my disgusting feelings. I don't know where I'll go, but I'll figure it out. Maybe I'll go back to where you found me instead of society so citizens won't wonder why I'm not aging. It's a secret, right? I can make a few sacrifices for the greater good." He laughed, humorless. "Or are you the greatest good I'm going to get? Did I say that right?"

"Take this seriously, dammit! You can't leave me!" he sobbed. "Please, please don't go! I love you so much and I can't do any of this without you!"

He pulled him into a tight hug and rubbed his back. "There, there." He sighed, resting his chin on his shoulder. "Sure you can, you've done it for so long before we even met. You'll be fine."

"I'm begging you, okay?!" Iceland snapped, face red from anger and embarrassment. "I'm begging you not to leave me! Don't leave me!" He shoved him so hard in the chest it knocked the wind out of him, which escaped him in the form of a pained gasp. "Look at me, Atli! You aren't going anywhere anytime soon, because your home is with us! And that includes me!"

"That hurt!" Nerstong jabbed a finger in his face. "Too bad, because I'm the one who has these feelings that mean I can't come back with you! You don't-"

**_"I LOVE YOU TOO, YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!"_** He grabbed him by the collar and pulled him against his lips hard. Too hard. He fell backwards with his twin on top of him. "Shit!"

He groaned, holding his jaw. "I'm going to bruise now, thanks." He shook his head. "What was that?"

"I love you like I shouldn't!" Iceland scrubbed at the hot tears on his face, offering a watery smile. "I was so scared to talk about it, and all I ended up doing was hurting you. I'm still scared. But look, I know this is how I really feel. I'm sorry." 

"You mean that?" Nerstong asked softly. "You wouldn't mind if I did this?"

The two boys kissed for the third time, younger stretched out across the older. Iceland's eyes fluttered shut in bliss as hands tangled in hair and hands grabbed faces. Nerstong hummed, making their lips vibrate. Iceland gently pulled away and panted. "I wouldn't mind at all."

"That's a relief!" He yawned, hugging himself. "Brother, I'm cold. Can we go now?"

"Only if you're not leaving me." Iceland scooped him up bridal-style and pointed into the darkness. "Turn on your flashlight so we can get out of here."

"My phone died yesterday." Nerstong sighed, grabbing Iceland's. "I'll use yours, okay? Onward!"

"Sure." He yawned, stumbling through the darkness clumsily. "I'll drive, okay? You look like you haven't slept since you left. Have you slept?"

He hummed softly. "No, too busy thinking about stuff." He slowly reached up a hand to gently brush across his cheek softly. "Thank you for rescuing me, brother. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Iceland shrieked in surprise at the feeling of a kiss pressed to his collarbone. "Eek! Nerstong!" He whipped his head around to look at him. "The hell?!"

Nerstong pouted, trying to kiss him again. "What's wrong?"

"You can't just do that without warning a person!" He shivered, rubbing at the spot. "Why?!"

He smirked. "What did you expect?"


	30. Dream of Paradise

"You know, it's pretty egotistical to fuck your identical twin," Denmark snorted.

"We're asexual, you shit." A smile flickered across Nerstong's face when Iceland laughed at his response. "And shut up, you'd fuck yourself."

"Hell yeah I would. I'd fuck me." He slicked his hair back.

Norway grabbed a box of butter cookies from the pantry and tossed one in his mouth, snorting. "Yeah, and you'd be the only one actually willing." He walked past the shocked man with a wink. "Unless you do something about that hair."

Iceland gagged. "Gross, we're leaving."

"Keep your door open." He pointed a cookie at him. "I know you aren't going past first base, but I still worry."

"Damn," Denmark whistled.

"We're going to the Gullfoss Waterfall, not upstairs! It'll be cool to visit the place we met again!" Nerstong jingled their new car keys in front of his face. "And what does baseball have to do with us?" 

Iceland just pushed him out the door before they could reply in a way that would ruin his innocence further. "You ready for an almost-two-hour drive?"

"Born ready!" He slid into the passenger seat and waited patiently. "We're going to listen to the radio, right?"

"Fuck yeah we're listening to the radio." He cranked the car up. "My music or yours?"

Nerstong plugged in his phone. "Let's listen to yours!" He gasped, selecting a song. "This one! Sing it with me!"

Iceland rolled his eyes. "Only if you start it."

 _"Well, if you wanted honesty  
That's all you had to say  
I never want to let you down  
Or have you go, it's better off this way!"_ He closed his eyes, just feeling the car smoothly going into motion. "Your turn."

 _"For all the dirty looks  
The photographs your boyfriend took  
Remember when you broke your foot  
From jumping out the second floor?"_ He glanced over at him and smiled. "This is fun."

\---

Two song-filled hours later, the two boys arrived at the waterfall. "Look, no people! I might've called in a favor so we get all this to ourselves!" Nerstong unbuckled his seatbelt. "Am I good or what?"

"Yeah, you're really getting the hang of this country stuff." Iceland opened the car door for him, gesturing to the scenery. "Have at it."

"Hooray!" He grabbed his hand and began to drag him to the edge of the largest rock, vibrating in excitement. "Look at that, brother. Isn't it beautiful?"

He nodded. "It is, isn't it? I still can't believe something like that is from the land of someone like me." He sighed, tracing the stone beneath him. "It would suit you more."

"Are you saying your country isn't beautiful?" Nerstong frowned, squeezing his hand. "Because it's very beautiful, just like you." He raised an eyebrow at the snort that came from next to him. "What?"

"That's like calling yourself beautiful." Iceland ducked his head in a poor attempt to hide his blush. "We should watch the auroras together sometime if you really want something nice. Just the two of us at night."

"I'd like that." He chanced a look straight down from where they were sitting, awestruck. "That would be quite a fall!"

He nodded. "Just stay here and you won't have to worry about-" He was suddenly cut off by freezing-cold water splashing directly in his face, causing him to let loose a girly shriek. "Brr! Okay, that wasn't expected." He glared. "Are you laughing at me?!"

"Maybe!" Nerstong covered his mouth and snickered into his hand. "No! Yes!"

"I'll give you something to laugh about!" Iceland pounced on him and wiped the water off onto his neck and face. "Is this funny?! It's cold!"

"You're tickling me!" He giggled madly and pushed at his shoulders. "Eeeeee, brother! I get it!"

He rolled his eyes. "Come here, idiot." He kissed the remaining laughter out of his mouth and pressed their foreheads together, a genuine smile on his face. "You're forgiven."

"I love you, Emil."

"I love you too, Atli."

**THE END**


End file.
